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Airplane Mode or why I could never be a flight stewardess

I bring electronics on planes. I've got my noise canceling headphones, my cell phone, my nook, and my friends iPhone just for good measure. Even though the FAA determined that we had to have all of those things shut off during take offs and landings, I tend to just put everything in airplane mode and hide it so the flight attendent can't chew me out. Depending on the day, the flight attendent can be more or less strict about this. Sometimes we will be told three or four times to turn everything off. Sometimes the flight attendent will walk through once and everyone will stick thier earbuds back in once s/he walks through. Sometimes the pilot just says to turn everything into airplane mode. People don't follow silly rules. The reason that even the best and brightest skirt this rule is because we don't understand it. Not even the stewardesses, and often, not even the pilots.

We don't understand it for good reason. A kindle uses 6 orders of magnitude less than the tolerable amount of EMT. The electrical interference excuse is BS. The other excuses are BS too.

But thats not my point. My point is that I wouldn't be able to stand enforcing a rule I don't understand. Doing something just because you are supposed to is such a control trip. I can't stand that psuedo sense of entitlement. And I definately wouldn't be able to stand telling someone to do something "just because". I've seen those stewards getting really worked up for these things too.

Gingerbread again

Leadership and Self Deception: Book Review